The ranking grind continues! This week on the pod we're breaking down the Top 10 Small Forwards in the league. It's all a bit tricky these days...some players we traditionally think of as 3's play in different roles than they used to...it's all a little blurry. But when it comes down to the traditional definition of a Small Forward, there's a prett…

We talked point guards last week, and we’re moving right along to shooting guards today on the pod! Who you got at #1? Ant? Donovan Mitchell? Booker? What about Kyrie? James and Patrick try their best to agree on a definitive ranking. Then we get into a little Best Take/Worst Take featuring Barack Obama, Joe Mazzulla, and the Miami Heat organizatio…

The NBA is back! We quickly chat about the opening night dubs for the Celtics and the Lakers before ranking our Top 10 Point Guards in the league. The Top 4 were pretty much locked, but 5-10 were up for debate. Who did we miss? Let us know in the comments! We also round things out with a little Best Take/Worst Take – where we nominate the best and …

The 2024-25 season starts up next week and that means it's time to make some predictions! Is it finally Luka's year to snag MVP? How on earth do we predict a ROTY with this draft class? Who'll be the first coach to get fired this year? Who's winning the chip? We dig into all of this and more on today's ep, and we bring back everybody's favorite seg…

Last week we tackled the East, this week we're digging into the West. We couldn't quite agree on a cohesive ranking, so we each kind of built our own lists. James' outrageous Lakers bias is on full display today, and Patrick does his best to hear him out. We all agree that OKC will likely come out on top this year, but the cluster of teams vying fo…

On this week's ep, we're sorting the Eastern conference teams into tiers. Tier 1 pretty clearly belongs to one team and one team only. And then things start to get a little tricky. Does the KAT trade cement the Knicks as the clear 2 seed? Does the PG trade do the same thing for Philly? Are Dame and Giannis finally going to see some real success? Ju…

As much as we love the NBA, there are a few things we'd like to change...the salary cap situation is incredibly murky for starters. And the Stepian rule doesn't really make sense anymore. Can we fix the BS charging calls too? What is this feet-planting garbage? After we pitch our rule changes, we get into the biggest draft of the off-season, in whi…

James is out of town this week so we have Travis Fukumoto and Johnny Carmack from the Bucketsquad crew subbing in. We're playing a new segment we like to call 2 Truths and a Lie! Each person pitches three NBA takes, and the other two guys have to spot the lie. Then, we draft our top three Fast Food Chains in another installment of Starting 5. Get i…

We're deep in the dog days of the offseason and craving basketball like crazy. Looking ahead to next season, we each made a list of team we think will rise, and teams that we think will fall. The Spurs are going to be better...but HOW MUCH? The Clippers are going to be worse...but HOW BAD? Then, we bring in our Producer Max to draft Animated Movies…

We're coming to you live from the Bucketsquad studio with a fun new thought exercise: which NFL Teams are equivalent to which NBA Teams? Do the Lakers have a comparable squad in the NFL? What about the Miami Heat? We suggest some cross-sport comparisons and talk them through. Then, it's time for the UNITED STATES DRAFT. We each pick our top 5 state…

We are back in person coming to you live from the Bucketsquad studio! This week we're doing a little Washed Watch. Who's had some concerning declines over the past few years? Who needs to bounce back in a big way to prove that they still have some juice left? James and Patrick pick their Top 3 plus some honorable mentions. Then, we bring in Johnny …

With the start of the 2024-25 NBA season still a couple months out, we're dreaming and scheming about everything that could be. On today's episode, we pitch a few narratives to the NBA scriptwriters. What if the Giannis comes back swinging? What if LeBron takes the Lakers to the Finals to square off the Champion Celtics for one last ring? What if t…

LEBRON & STEPH FOREVER On the heels of a dominant Gold Medal win for Team USA, we can't help but feel like LeBron & Steph still have some championship juice left in the tank. How can the Lakers retool and rebuild around their existing pieces to make a run this year? And how can the Warriors do the same with Steph? James and Patrick discuss some pos…

Patrick is out on vacation with his fiancee so we got our guy Neal Schnoor back on the pod. With Jamal Murray's recent struggles in the Olympics and the Russell Westbrook signing we figured we'd chat about the future of the Nuggets. Are we looking at a downward trajectory? And then we're back with another Starting Lineup, where James, Neal, and Max…

We're back! We chat about the successes (and memes) of the Men's Basketball team in the 2024 Paris Olympics before diving into our brand new segment: STARTING FIVE. We each draft our top 5 picks of a specific category, and this week we're starting off with summer activities. Beach hangs, pool parties, grilling out...they're all on the table! Who pi…

We’re 2 weeks out from the Olympics so today we’re breaking down all things Olympic Basketball! The way that this version of group play works is a bit confusing and involves point differentials so we’re breaking down how it all works. We’re pretty high on the USA squad, but we’re also seeing some exciting stuff from Australia, Canada, and France. P…

DeRozan got traded to the Kings so we decided to do a little California NBA special. First, we evaluate the trade and offer up a few minutes of NBA therapy for Bulls fans. Is it a good fit? James and Patrick disagree. Moving down to SoCal...what are four trades the Lakers could make to become championship favorites next season? And how do we rank t…

Free Agency is wrapping up and we have lots of thoughts! The Sixers snagged PG but does it really mean anything? OKC got a huge W by snagging Hartenstein, and the Spurs are going to get some real veteran leadership in CP3. The Celtics also managed to keep their whole squad together in an underrated W. The Nuggets, Clippers, Lakers, and Bucks all di…

A lot has happened since Monday so we brought our good buddy Neal back to break it down. The NBA Draft is in the books and there were definitely some winners and losers. We break down our thoughts on a few highlights, including Dalton Knecht to the Lakers, Stephon Castle to the Spurs, Rob Dillingham to the Wolves, AJ Johnson to the Bucks, Devin Car…

We rounded up all of the vilest, most out-of-pocket takes from NBA talking heads this season, plus a pretty gnarly crop of our own wrong takes, and now they must compete head-to-head in a March Madness style bracket. Only the worst take will survive! What was the worst take of the year? Let us know in the comments!…

IT'S ALMOST DRAFTIN' TIME James and Patrick are joined by 2HYPE producer and college basketball expert Neal Schnoor to draft their top 13 prospects in this year's NBA lottery. It's a weak year for sure, but there are still plenty of talented players to choose from, many of which will be able to help NBA teams right away. Where will UConn studs Step…

The Finals are over just like that! We can't help but feel like these Finals were a bit lackluster, and honestly that this year's playoffs were similarly underwhelming. But we can't deny that this Celtics team is special, deserves the chip, and they'll likely be in the same position next year. What are the takeaways from this series? And who's goin…

The Celtics are officially up 3-0 in the Finals and history tells us that this victory is more than likely the nail in the coffin. While Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown both put up similarly heroic numbers, we can't help but marvel at how tactically JB made it happen. The Mavs did have a late-game run fueled by great team synergy but they just couldn…

Are the NBA Finals already over? Today on the pod we're breaking down last night's Game 2 Celtics W over the Dallas Mavericks and while the game wasn't all that exciting, there's plenty to talk about. Jrue Holiday, Jaylen Brown, and Derrick White made up for a continually lackluster Jayson Tatum. Luka came out on a heater but the rest of the Mavs s…

Holy Porzingis! Game 1 of the 2024 NBA Finals is in the books and it was an absolutely dominant display by the Boston Celtics. Kristaps Porzingis is back in action and looking like a STUD. The Celtics played physical, took tons of shots at the rim, and punished the Mavs every time Luka took a seat on the bench. What do they need to do to adjust? An…

The Mavs took down the Timberwolves in Game 5 and we're faced with a reality which we honestly did not predict: the Boston Celtics will face Dallas in the NBA Finals! We break down what we think each team will need to do to win. Boston has to win the rebounding war to stay on top, and they're going to have to generate a lot of 3's for Porzingis as …

The Wolves won Game 4 but man was it a close one. The boys are not quite sure how to feel about this series until they see what happens tonight. In the meantime, they each decided to draft their starting 5 players of the 2024 Playoffs, plus an honorary 6th man. Who has the better squad? Let us know in the comments! And stick around for a little Hot…

We're one game away from the finals! The Celtics swept the Pacers and it's looking like the Mavs could do the same to the T-Wolves. We have to give props to the Pacers for keeping these games incredibly close even without Haliburton. Shoutout Jaylen Brown for showing up, snagging ECF MVP, and justifying the insane contract. And in the WCF, we're al…

What more could you ask for from a pair of Conference Finals games? The Celtics/Pacers Game 1 was on offensive frenzy, going into OT after a wild end-of-regulation sequence. Tatum sealed the game with a strong and-1 and a clutch 3 and the rest was history. In the West, the Wolves and Mavs were pretty much neck-and-neck the entire way. 3's were fall…

Round 2 comes to a close in dramatic fashion! The T-Wolves rallied in the 3rd quarter of Game 7 to close a 15 point deficit, go up by 10, and steal the series in Denver! It was a huge legacy game for KAT and a massive testament to DEFENSE and team basketball. Meanwhile, Dallas’ role players managed to outplay the young OKC core in a crazy close Gam…

After a slew of Game 5's we're sizing up the playoff situation going into the weekend. The Nuggets are poised to end the series tonight barring an Anthony Edwards hero moment. The Knicks are in position to do the same over the Pacers unless the injury situation gets even worse than it already is. OKC is unfortunately looking a little out of whack, …

The second round is getting interesting, folks! Our biggest focus today is on the crazy developments in the Wolves/Nuggets series this weekend. Jamal Murray and the Nuggets are back in a big way, tying up the series 2-2. Same goes for the Pacers/Knicks series, where the spry young Pacers continue to take advantage of the wounded Knicks. The Mavs we…

This second round just keeps heating up! The Wolves are looking absolutely out-of-this-world against the Nuggets and we may very well be on the precipice of the Anthony Edwards Era. Meanwhile, the Knicks and the Celtics keep pulling out W's in the Eastern Conference and seem destined to meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. And if Luka doesn't go …

Another exciting weekend of basketball, folks. Anthony Edwards and the Minnesota Timberwolves managed to steal a game in Denver and we're really excited for what this series holds. We also saw the end of the Magic/Cavs, Clippers/Mavs, Bucks/Pacers, and Knicks/Sixers series and we have all sorts of feelings. Do the Clippers need to blow everything u…

We're back! We had to miss Monday's episode, but we're back today to break down some huge developments in the playoffs. The Wolves SWEPT the Suns in a historic, often-times baffling series. The Nuggets beat the Lakers in a fairly interesting, but ultimately predictable 5 game series. The Celtics handled the Heat without too much difficulty. And the…

We got a fantastic batch of Game 2's in the first round of the 2024 NBA Playoffs and we're breaking them down today on the pod! Tuesday night's double-header of the Knicks-Sixers game and the Lakers-Nuggets game was one of the most entertaining nights of basketball in recent history, and we have a lot of thoughts. We also dig into the Timberwolves'…

We had our first playoff games this weekend and every single home team won out. The Celtics, Nuggets, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Bucks, Thunder, Clippers, and Knicks all snatched the W in the first game of Round One. James and Patrick analyze these games one-by-one, trying to see which games were film (legit forecasts for what's to come) and which ga…

We're on the eve of round one of the 2024 playoffs and boy do we have some predictions for you! Will the Wolves have enough offense to stand a chance against the red hot Phoenix Suns? Patrick and James don't think so. Do the Sixers stand a chance against the Knicks without a full-strength Embiid? Patrick and James disagree! Tune in for our full pre…

The Play-in Tournament has been a blast so far! Earlier in the week, the Lakers took down the Pelicans and secured the 7 seed, meaning they'll take on the reigning champs in the first round. Then the Kings handily beat the Warriors, perhaps officially ending the Golden State Dynasty? Last night, the Heat and the Sixers had a duel for the ages; Jimm…

The regular season is officially over after a dramatic final weekend of games! The play-in games are going to be super exciting this week (in the Western Conference, at least) and we're making our picks today on the pod. The Lakers have a pretty solid path to the playoffs! Can we say the same about the Warriors? We also touch on the 1-6 seeding sit…

It's the last episode of the regular season! We've had a very interesting final week of the season, especially pertaining to our favorite teams. The Suns lost hard to the Clippers, and then came back to barely beat them the next night (without PG, Russ, or Kawhi playing). The Lakers fell to the Warriors in a well-contested game for play-in seeding.…

This week on the pod, we're diving into the neck-and-neck battles currently being waged in both the Western and Eastern Conferences. The Nuggets, Timberwolves, and OKC are fighting tooth-and-nail over the top 3 seeds in the West, and the Bucks, Magic, and Knicks are duking it out over the 2-4 seeds in the East. But the war doesn't stop there. The S…

We're on the road this week! James is off on a tour of low-rated NBA stadiums across the country so we're going remote. The topic today is NBA Hot Seat Teams! Which teams have the most pressure to succeed in the playoffs this year? We agree that the Bucks, Cavs, Suns, Lakers, Celtics, and the Clippers are under intense scrutiny to make it really fa…

This week on the pod we're hopping around to different teams for some quick check-ins. The Warriors are showing a little bit of life, but we're doubtful about their playoff chances. And while the Rockets have been on a hot streak, we can't help but notice that their schedule has been pretty weak. James also goes through the best teams post-trade de…

This week on the pod we're talking All-NBA squads! The first team picks are pretty obvious, so we're confident about those predictions. But things could shift around a bit in the 2nd and 3rd Team squads, especially considering the new rules regarding positions. Who do you think will get the honor this year? Who are we missing? Let us know in the co…

We're handing out trophies this week! We have to get it out of the way right off the bat: Jokic will be our 2024 MVP. No doubt. Same goes for the unbelievable ROTY Monsieur Victor Wembanyama. Naz Reid has been absolutely incredible when it comes to maintaining the pace of his squad so we agree he should get 6th Man. But a couple of the other awards…

There's a handful of teams that we won't be talking about for the rest of the season, and we want to focus in on the ones with the brightest futures. It's hard not to give the Spurs and Wemby some shine with the unbelievable potential we're seeing this season. But we also have to give the Grizzlies some love, who will have 3 great players in their …

March Madness is right over the horizon, so we're taking a look at the NBA standings this week and predicting which lower-seeded teams could cause upsets in the playoffs. As we see it right now, the Mavs probably have the best chance to cause an upset due to the Luka/Kyrie factor. And of course, Jimmy Butler will inevitably do Jimmy Butler things. …

This week on the pod we're breaking down the Pelicans season. Our big question right off the bat: why do the team's best lineups not include Zion? He's been playing pretty well, even if his offensive rebounding and shots at the rim are slightly down. We also have to dig into their defensive schemes. They've got some crazy length, but we just don't …

Our guest this week is UCLA Guard Jack Seidler, joining us to chop it up before March Madness kicks into gear. He tells us all about hanging out with Heat Star Jaime Jaquez in Miami, how NIL has changed the game for young athletes, lists off some of the best players he's played with and against, explains why LeBron is the GOAT, and why this is the …